Falls – technology to stop them, understand them

For an older person, a fall can mean the difference between dependence and independence. There are many possible reasons for a fall:

A trip caused by an unexpected obstacle – why did you leave that there?

A trip caused by not seeing an obstacle – not wearing glasses, not enough light;

A trip caused by a something likely to cause a trip – a rug or mat, frost, snow or ice, or a wet floor…

A cardiac episode;

A neurological episode, for example, a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA);

Physical weakness -for example due to glucose levels or dehydration.

Sometimes a fall can be caused by a combination of these things. No matter what our age, we need to reduce the likelihood of a fall. We need to have some idea how likely a person is to fall and then understand the potential impact of that fall.

A young healthy person may be unlikely to fall, but even if they do, they will probably recover quickly, and there is a good chance there will be people around to support them. But an older person living alone, perhaps with poor eyesight, who has a fall and perhaps breaks a hip (which is much more likely with ageing bones than young bones), may no longer be able to live at home if they cannot go to the toilet themselves or get food themselves.

What’s it about?

Surrounded by technology…lets use it to make sure that we spend the minimum time in our lives as patients.

This is about inexpensive devices which help you stay healthy, which might mean you spend less time as a patient if you do get sick, and that you can get as independent as possible as fast as possible if you are escaping hospital.